Friday, 29 March 2013

So he
said: "Out of the one who eats came something to eat; out of the strong
came something sweet."
Three days later they were still trying to figure it out. (Judges 14:14)

Samson gave a riddle to his guests and it totally puzzled
them for days. Do we stand in life on our journey puzzled about what to do or
where to go or even why things happen to us?

My dear friend, when all is in turmoil and you feel like
the end of your strength is very close. Listen to this: Then the angel spoke to the women. "Don't be afraid!" he
said. "I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't
here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where
his body was lying. (Matthew 28:5-6). In these words lies the secret to
life. Jesus rose from the dead giving life to us in abundance. The enemy will
try anything to steal that gift from you. When the waves get to high, look up,
when the burden gets to heavy, look up, when the road seems impossible, look
up, and when you have come to the end of your rope, look up at the empty cross
of a risen Jesus and know this. He died to save you out of love and a love like
that will not abandon you nor put you on a path that you cannot travel. A love
like that only seeks what is best for you even when it puzzles you.

So now you know that there is no puzzle in life, but only
Jesus Christ. Seek His presence and His comfort and His peace for your journey
and no matter how large or heavy it gets, you will always end up riding the
waves home to the shore or salvation.

Wednesday, 27 March 2013

His
father and mother didn't realize the LORD was at work in this, creating an
opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that
time. (Judges 14:4)

How easily do we question? When things go wrong or does
not go our way, we get upset and we are irritated by the circumstances that
surrounds it. I had a similar experience last week when a request was made that
I did not like and it irritated me, because I believed that my initial work was
much better. After struggling with the new task (and of course this helped with
the irritation levels) I finally finished it.

When this new change was tested we realised that there
were older issues that was never seen, because we never looked this close at
this specific area. So in asking me to change what I have done God opened to us
older problems that we could fix and showed me aspects of my job that opened my
eyes to things I did not know. Thus fixing old errors and giving me knowledge
in return – God is awesome!

My dear friend, take each hurdle in life as a learning
experience and work humbly with gratitude. This will only make God proud and He
will surely open doors for you wherever you go. May your day be blessed as we
enter into Easter celebrating the greatest gift of all time – Jesus!

Tuesday, 26 March 2013

When
her son was born, she named him Samson. And the LORD blessed him as he grew
up. And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he lived in
Mahaneh-dan, which is located between the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol. (Judges
13:24-25)

I just love this verse: And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him. Samson was a very
strong man and there was no one that could match his strength. Every time he
did something extraordinary the spirit of the Lord moved in him and I believe
it stirred him.

My dear friend, do you know how much power lives within
you? The spirit of the Lord stirred Samson and he took on lions with his bare
hands. When the spirit of the Lord moves in you, you will move mountains and do
unbelievable things.

I love the story of Samson, but we will see many human
nature faults in him even though he was such an amazing man. With great
strength come great responsibility, but the enemy seeks weakness and will do
anything to bring us down. It is when we humbly submit to God and trust Him
completely that we will stand unmoved and uncorrupted against the enemy in all
its forms.

I pray that the spirit of the Lord will stir in you today
in such a way that you will take on lions with your bare hands, in Jesus name.

Monday, 25 March 2013

The
LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of
you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved
themselves by their own strength. (Judges 7:2)

As it is Gideon was battling with his faith and he asked
God for a sign more than once. Then to add on to his challenges the Lord
reduced Gideon’s army from 32000 to 300. Now that is a significant difference,
and I believe it placed Gideon in a place where he had no choice but to trust.

The
LORD told Gideon, "With these 300 men I will rescue you and give you
victory over the Midianites. Sometimes in our lives we
stand in front of incredible odds and sometimes things just seem to fall into our
laps. I believe that in both cases God plays a vital role and that in both
cases He gives us what we need and places the victory in our hands.

My dear friend, when the Israelites turned their backs on
God and then asked for help, God wanted them to know that He is the one that
holds their fate in His hands and therefore He gave their tiny army victory against
overwhelming odds making it clear that there was no way they could’ve done it
on their own. It is important that we know where our victories come from and
that God holds our lives in His hands. This, my dear friend, is so important
for you to truly comprehend. God can change your circumstances and any moment,
and how you accept it will define your place in His kingdom and make you the
hero that you truly are. In the end, God will give you victory for His glory
and giving Him that glory is so important for it will lift you to a new level of
faith that will change lives.

God has given me so many victories in my life, but the
ones that truly defined me is the ones that I knew was impossible in the hands
of a man, and that only God could give me those victories.

Sunday, 24 March 2013

The
angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, "Mighty hero, the LORD is with
you!" (Judges 6:12)

I don’t know why this scripture has been in my mind most
of today. Of all the amazing people that God used in the Bible, three of them stand
out to me and one of them is Gideon. I think it is because of this specific
phrase. You see when God’s angel appeared to Gideon he brought God’s greeting
with him. It was not an average man of the street, but God who called Gideon a “Mighty
Hero”.

What is so amazing is how God sees Gideon and how Gideon
sees himself. God sees a mighty hero and Gideon says: "But Lord," Gideon replied, "how can I rescue Israel? My
clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my
entire family!"

My dear friend, I pray that you will allow God to show
you how He sees you. We are so easy to accept our fate when there is so much
more in store for us. God sees much more in you than you can ever imagine and
with God there is no obstacle that you cannot overcome.

You are a mighty hero in God’s eyes and it is time that
you see you for who you are.

Book for the month

Many Christians feel bombarded by the messages they hear and the trends they see in our rapidly changing world. How can we resist being conformed to the pattern of this world? What will faithfulness to Christ look like in these tumultuous times? How can we be true to the gospel in a world where myths and false visions of the world so often prevail? In This is Our Time, Trevin Wax provides snapshots of twenty-first-century American Life in order to help Christians understand the times. By analyzing our common beliefs and practices (smartphone habits, entertainment intake, and our views of shopping, sex, marriage, politics, and life’s purpose), Trevin helps us see through the myths of society to the hope of the gospel. As faithful witnesses to Christ, Trevin writes, we must identify the longing behind society’s most cherished myths (what is good, true, beautiful), expose the lie at the heart of these myths (what is false and damaging), and show how the gospel tells a better story – one that exposes the lie but satisfies the deeper longing.

Movie of the month

The pre-ministry life of Jesus from his baptism with John the Baptist to his exploration of the wilderness